If Randy Orton hadn't literally achieved every goal a wrestler would ever want to achieve in a 30-year career in half the time, he might still be insanely motivated and at the top of this list. However, in 2015 it's all about the little in-ring things that Orton does to make Raw, Smackdown and PPVs more entertaining that are worthwhile and keep him as one of the best. For instance, Orton's opening match with Sheamus didn't have to be anything super special, but in a) teasing that Sheamus was enough of a threat that he needed to be punted and b) working out a finish that saw him take TWO Brogue Kicks, he effectively kept both himself super strong and actually put Sheamus over even stronger. In 2015, Orton also found a way to do similar for Seth Rollins on two separate occasions. The most significant of these occasions was at WrestleMania where in giving Seth Rollins not just a "RKO outta nowhere," but a "super pop-up awesome and never before seen RKO outta nowhere," he not just aided himself, but found a way to accentuate Rollins' athleticism, too. Intriguingly enough, though Rollins lost, in the finish being so memorable, Orton elevated Rollins just enough to where people wouldn't remember that he lost a match prior to cashing in the briefcase.
Besides having been an independent professional wrestling manager for a decade, Marcus Dowling is a Washington, DC-based writer who has contributed to a plethora of online and print magazines and newspapers writing about music and popular culture over the past 15 years.